Apple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pros may be late, but they have one big advantage

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Apple finally announced its new “ProLED” touchscreen MacBook Pros.
• They will feature the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
• The laptops are now available for preorder, starting at $2,899.

Steve Jobs might be rolling over in his grave, but at long last, Apple announced a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen display. The new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max features a tandem OLED display Apple is calling “ProLED XDR”, scaling up to 2,000 nits of brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. For the first time, the MacBook Pro will feature touchscreen capabilities and the Dynamic Island — a feature first introduced on the iPhone.

Also: Forget the touchscreen MacBook – Apple’s new M6 is the laptop I recommend for most people

The display and controversial form factor aren’t its only draws: it features a thinner, lighter design and brings back the illuminated Apple logo on the back — some of the most significant changes to the MacBook chassis in years. The new MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips will come in both 14- and 16-inch sizes, with up to 128GB of unified memory, and weigh less than ever: the smaller model at three pounds and the 16-inch at four pounds.

About that display…

The MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max feature new ProLED XDR displays that control color and pixel luminance at the sub-millisecond level, while monitoring and adapting usage over time, Apple says. The panels feature a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio and cover both the P3 and Adobe RGB color gamuts, high-end specs indeed for a laptop display.

Apple

To reduce glare, Apple says it etched the nano-texture directly into the glass, since the touch sensor is built directly into the panel rather than layered on top of it.

The displays work with Apple’s ProMotion technology, which adjusts refresh rates based on what the device is actively doing: scaling down to 10Hz while idle for better power efficiency and ramping up to 120Hz during gaming or graphics-heavy tasks.

In terms of software and usability, Apple says apps should be ready to go on the new MacBook Pros, since they’re set to register touches as clicks.

The secret sauce

Touchscreen laptops are nothing new, having been standard fare on laptops of all kinds for years now. Apple’s entrance into the market is notable because the company took such a hard-line stance against them for years (Jobs famously called them “ergonomically terrible“), but honestly, the everyday consumer in 2026 may struggle to see the big deal.

Either you like using your finger or a stylus on a screen, or you don’t. Can Apple really deliver a touchscreen experience that is worlds better than what’s available on Windows PCs or Chromebooks (or Googlebooks)? It’s debatable.

However, there are a few things Apple has up its sleeve that set it apart from the competition, and they have to do with its most successful product of all time (which also happens to have a touchscreen): the iPhone.

Also: iPhone Duo hands-on: The $2,000 foldable has some magical touches

Apple smartly made the iPhone’s usability wins core to its approach to the new MacBook. For example, it features a Dynamic Island cutout, doing away with the notch in favor of a dynamic multitasking hub. This allows it to adapt through unique touch-based interactions that were previously impossible on a MacBook.

The Dynamic Island serves as the new home for Spotlight, Live Activities, and Siri, changing how you interact with these features by putting them front and center. The design intent here appears to be to keep dynamic, time-sensitive events and apps in close view for quick reference, an interesting merge of how we use both our iPhones and laptops.

Also: Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook is days away – with another OLED surprise

Plus, with Apple’s vast App Store library, there is already a host of touch-optimized programs for Apple’s ecosystem. It doesn’t look like Apple is interested in bringing these directly to MacOS — this is still very much a MacBook Pro — instead, folding in the touch functionality as part of the feature set of these laptops’ premium displays.

In that sense, this is already well-trodden ground for Apple. Bringing the best features of the iPhone to the MacBook Pro isn’t even that revolutionary when you think about it; it’s a smart way to improve its product line.

The dollar sign-shaped elephant in the room

You already know these new MacBooks aren’t going to be cheap. The base model with the lowest configuration starts at $2,899: the 14-inch M5 Pro with 24GB of unified memory and 1TB of local storage. The prices only scale up from there to seriously astronomical figures, particularly for the ultra-high-end storage options. 16TB of storage will start at $14 grand.

Apple

We haven’t seen these laptops in person yet, but I have no doubt the new ProLED XDR screens look fantastic. However, it’s a lot of money for a touchscreen laptop. These devices come hot on the heels of Microsoft and Nvidia’s recent RTX Spark devices, which also target the high end of the market, with AI enthusiasts looking for local AI performance to be front and center.

These laptops are niche, to be sure, but they also don’t speak to such a specific subset of users; instead, they focus on their impressive hardware and implications for creators, artists, and power users.

Also: Apple’s touchscreen Mac event: 3 things I’m excited for – and my one concern

Apple isn’t showcasing a reinvention of the MacBook Pro, but rather a bonus feature for its most powerful ultra-premium laptops. With the recent announcement of the M6 MacBook Pro, consumers looking for an accessible workhorse MacBook already have that option. This is for someone else entirely.

The new MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max are now available for preorder, with general availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.